The 1978 Baltimore Colts season was the 26th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Colts finished the 1978 season with a record of 5 wins and 11 losses, and tied for fourth in the AFC East division with the Buffalo Bills. The Colts lost the tiebreaker to Buffalo based on head-to-head series (0–2).
Baltimore started the season in catastrophic fashion, losing their first two games by a combined score of 80–0. The Colts' first win of the season, a Week Three victory over New England on Monday Night Football, is one of the biggest regular-season upsets in NFL history. The Patriots were favored by an overwhelming 17.5 points, but the Colts scored 27 points in the fourth quarter, including a 90-yard kickoff return by running back Joe Washington with under a minute left to take the lead for good.[1] In the game, Washington became the first player to throw a touchdown, catch a pass for a touchdown, and return a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game.[2]
Personnel
Staff
| 1978 Baltimore Colts staff |
|
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
|
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
- Special Teams – George Boutselis
|
Roster
| 1978 Baltimore Colts roster |
|
|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
|
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
|
|
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
|
|
Defensive backs
Special teams
Rookies in italics
|
[3]
Regular season
Schedule
| Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Record |
Game Site |
Attendance |
| 1 |
September 4, 1978 |
at Dallas Cowboys |
L 0–38 |
0–1 |
Texas Stadium |
64,224
|
| 2 |
September 10, 1978 |
Miami Dolphins |
L 0–42 |
0–2 |
Memorial Stadium |
47,730
|
| 3 |
September 18, 1978 |
at New England Patriots |
W 34–27 |
1–2 |
Schaefer Stadium |
57,284
|
| 4 |
September 24, 1978 |
at Buffalo Bills |
L 17–24 |
1–3 |
Rich Stadium |
55,270
|
| 5 |
October 1, 1978 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
L 14–17 |
1–4 |
Memorial Stadium |
50,314
|
| 6 |
October 8, 1978 |
at St. Louis Cardinals |
W 30–17 |
2–4 |
Busch Memorial Stadium |
47,479
|
| 7 |
October 15, 1978 |
New York Jets |
L 10–33 |
2–5 |
Memorial Stadium |
45,563
|
| 8 |
October 22, 1978 |
Denver Broncos |
W 7–6 |
3–5 |
Memorial Stadium |
54,057
|
| 9 |
October 29, 1978 |
at Miami Dolphins |
L 8–26 |
3–6 |
Miami Orange Bowl |
53,524
|
| 10 |
November 6, 1978 |
Washington Redskins |
W 21–17 |
4–6 |
Memorial Stadium |
57,631
|
| 11 |
November 12, 1978 |
at Seattle Seahawks |
W 17–14 |
5–6 |
Kingdome |
61,905
|
| 12 |
November 19, 1978 |
Cleveland Browns |
L 24–45 |
5–7 |
Memorial Stadium |
45,341
|
| 13 |
November 26, 1978 |
New England Patriots |
L 14–35 |
5–8 |
Memorial Stadium |
42,828
|
| 14 |
December 3, 1978 |
at New York Jets |
L 17–30 |
5–9 |
Shea Stadium |
50,248
|
| 15 |
December 9, 1978 |
at Pittsburgh Steelers |
L 13–35 |
5–10 |
Three Rivers Stadium |
41,957
|
| 16 |
December 17, 1978 |
Buffalo Bills |
L 14–21 |
5–11 |
Memorial Stadium |
25,415
|
Results
Week 3
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
| • Colts |
0 |
7 |
0 |
27 |
34 |
| Patriots |
6 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
27 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|
| 1 |
|
NE |
Andy Johnson 1 yard run (kick failed) |
NE 6–0 |
|
| 2 |
|
BAL |
Don McCauley 3 yard run (Toni Linhart kick) |
BAL 7–6 |
|
| 2 |
|
NE |
Stanley Morgan 62 yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick) |
NE 13–7 |
|
| 4 |
|
BAL |
Roger Carr 54 yard pass from Joe Washington (Toni Linhart kick) |
BAL 14–13 |
|
| 4 |
|
BAL |
Joe Washington 23 yard pass from Bill Troup (kick failed) |
BAL 20–13 |
|
| 4 |
|
BAL |
Roger Carr 67 yard pass from Bill Troup (Toni Linhart kick) |
BAL 27–13 |
|
| 4 |
|
NE |
Steve Grogan 4 yard run (John Smith kick) |
BAL 27–20 |
|
| 4 |
|
NE |
Sam Cunningham 1 yard run (John Smith kick) |
Tie 27–27 |
|
| 4 |
|
BAL |
Joe Washington 90 yard kickoff return (Toni Linhart kick) |
BAL 34–27 |
|
[4]
Standings
See also
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
Use <references />, or <references group="..." />
|
|
|
|
| Franchise |
|
| Stadiums |
|
| Culture |
|
| Lore |
|
| Rivalries |
|
| Division championships (16) |
|
| Conference championships (7) |
|
| League championships (5) |
|
| Retired numbers |
|
| Media |
|
| Current league affiliations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Played in Baltimore (1953–1983)
|
|
|
|
|
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single game, from 1940 to 2012, in the Regular Season, team won game, requiring Underdog By >= 0, sorted by descending Underdog By.
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Baltimore Colts 34 at New England Patriots 27, Monday, September 18, 1978
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
